


The Woodcutter and the Swan Who Loved Him

by YuzuYoKoi



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Love, M/M, Sad, Swan Yuzuru Hanyu, Swanyu, fable, legend, yuzuvier - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 12:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18810595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuzuYoKoi/pseuds/YuzuYoKoi
Summary: A retelling of the Japanese legend of "The Crane Wife" with a Yuzuvier and Swanyu twist.Javier is a lonely woodcutter in ancient Japan who saves a swan that turns into Yuzuru.





	The Woodcutter and the Swan Who Loved Him

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second time writing a fic, so feedback and comments are welcome. It's loosely based on both The Legend of the Crane Wife and the Vocaloid song, Feathers Across the Seasons. 
> 
> I'd like to dedicate this to Kiseki1412. Without your encouragement, support, and feedback this wouldn't exist. Thank you. :) 
> 
>  

Once there was a lonely woodcutter who lived near a small village in Japan. Each day he would walk from his home in the forest, past the lake at the base of the mountain on his way there to sell the wood he cut. He was a Gaijin, a foreigner from Spain, so many saw him as an outcast. However, he was also known as an honest man and a hard worker and was therefore allowed to live in the forest away from the rest of the townsfolk. His name was Javier. He had dark curly hair and warm eyes, with a sturdy body and strong hands that had grown accustomed to years of cutting timber. Javier lived a simple life. Each day he would go to the village with his cart to sell what he had cut and return to his lonely home. 

One evening as he passed the lake, he heard horrible sounds coming from the shore - thrashing and squealing. He clutched his dagger and went to see what could be causing the noise. 

What he found was the most beautiful swan he'd never seen, pure white and majestic, caught in a hunter's net on the shore of the lake. It had been thrashing about in fear and had gotten itself even more tangled by doing so. He saw the thin ropes of the net cutting into its feathers, cruelly bending them back in unnatural directions. They wound around it's delicate ankles, tight enough rub the skin raw. And the thickest part of the net had found its way around the bird's graceful neck, the knots with a gripping hold that threatened to choke it to its death. 

Its breathing was shallow, and it looked defeated, as if it had already surrendered to its inevitable death. It struck the woodcutter in that moment, that seeing something so beautiful suffer this way was surely one of the cruelest acts of the gods. Anger welled up inside him as he wondered how someone could think of trying to capture and kill such a wonderful creature. He knew it was forbidden to interfere with another villager’s snares but when the swan wearily lifted its head and met his eyes, and his decision was made. He slowly walked towards the swan and crouched down to cut the ropes. 

As he was working on cutting them, he began to worry the swan may try to attack him out of fear, but it only continued to gaze at him as he cut each line of the rope and gently removed them, slowly freeing the beautiful bird. Once the last rope was cut and the netting removed, the he sat back and looked at the swan again, knowing it could fly away at any moment. It continued to stare at him, and shakily stood up, gingerly testing its footing. Javier had never seen anything so majestic in his life. He couldn’t resist slowly reaching out to put a hand on its neck… but as soon as he touched it, the swan met his eyes and seemed to startle, and then flew away. 

A few days later, Javier was at his home in the forest preparing his evening meal. He lived in a simple peasant house, with wooden walls and a thatched roof. The sliding doors were covered in paper that was dotted with holes and the middle of the main room was open to the earth below to allow for a small hearth where he cooked his meals and made his tea. It was sparsely furnished and simply decorated. The home was the only thing he had inherited from his parents. They were missionaries who came from Spain yet were never allowed to live in the village being that they were foreigners. The villagers reluctantly tolerated them, along with their strange son who was raised Japanese although looking as much a Spaniard as his father. 

Hearing the sound of feet crushing on the last of the autumn leaves, he looked up and saw someone approaching in the distance. It was a young man, with dark shining air, almond eyes, full lips, and porcelain skin. He had a slender waist, long delicate fingers, and wore black velvet pants and a white deep cut tunic that shimmered and fluttered as if it was made of diamonds and feathers. Javier had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. His breath caught in his throat and he stood frozen in his entrance way as the handsome stranger approached. 

“It’s getting cold and I’ve lost my way, will you please let me in?” the young man asked. Javier noticed how he held his arms wrapped delicately around himself, to ward off the cold. A chilling breeze blew by them at that moment, and Javier was brought back to the present. Winter was coming, and the air was turning colder each day. 

Javier had always been wary of strangers, due to how the townsfolk treated him with disdain. But this was the first time anyone had willingly asked to come into his home, and the young man was mesmerizing. 

“Of course, you may stay here for the night” Javier said as he extended his hand. The young man took it and smiled.

Javier led the handsome stranger inside his humble peasant’s home and gave him tea to drink as he warmed himself by the hearth. He told Javier that his name was Yuzuru and that he was traveling through the forest and had lost his way. They shared the evening meal Javier had prepared and spoke throughout the evening. Javier was entranced with Yuzuru’s sweet voice and glowing smile. Surprisingly, he was pleased to feel an instant connection with the strange, beautiful man. This was the first person who didn’t treat him like he was an outcast, and Javier finally began to relax and enjoy his company. When night came, he laid out an extra futon for his guest to use and they each went to sleep. As Javier drifted off, he felt a sudden feeling of sadness in his heart at the thought of his new friend leaving in the morning.

When he woke, the crushing loneliness of his many years of solitude felt like a weight upon his heart at the thought of the young man leaving. As they sat at the low table eating their morning meal, the shy woodcutter gathered his courage and asked Yuzuru a question. 

“Would you stay another day with me? Just one more day? It’s been so long since anyone has spent time with me, and I’ve enjoyed your company.” He slowly looked up from his clasped hands, where he had been staring. He had been rejected by everyone else and feared the answer to his question.

Yuzuru’s smile beamed at him like the sun. “Yes Javier, I will stay for one more day.” And he reached out to put a hand over Javier’s trembling ones.

They spent the day together in happiness; enjoying each other’s company, talking, even doing the household chores together. At the end of the day, when the thought of his new companion leaving the next morning crossed his mind, Javier felt the same crushing pain as before. And as they each lay down in their futons, Javier turned towards Yuzuru and again asked him, “One more day?” to which the young man smiled at him and answered, “One more day”.

The next day was the same, with Javier again asking Yuzuru to stay one more day before they fell asleep and Yuzuru agreeing. The days soon turned to weeks, and months, with each night ending with a request for “One more day”. 

As the seasons changed, Javier and Yuzuru grew closer with each day that passed. The domestic chores of life became easier to bear when shared, and they found a steady happiness in building a life together. Soon they found their fingers intertwining as they walked the paths in the woods together after gathering mushrooms, and Yuzuru’s head leaning onto Javier’s shoulder as they sat watching the flames flicker in the hearth each night. 

Finally, one day as they were tending the garden together in the warm sunlight with the butterflies floating around them, Javier put his hand on Yuzuru’s delicate neck, and gently kissed his soft lips. A tear slowly fell down Yuzuru’s cheek as he smiled and leaned forward to return the kiss. 

From that night forward the second futon was never needed again. 

They lived happily for a time, spending a few short, beautiful seasons together, blissfully in love. They found joy in each other and in their simple life together. Each night Javier would hold Yuzuru in his arms and ask him “One more day?” and Yuzuru would smile, blushing into Javier’s shoulder and give the same reply as always; “One more day”.

One morning as he walked outside to get water from the well, Javier saw Yuzuru sitting in the garden, singing along with the little birds of the forest and quietly murmured “What a lovely voice” 

Yuzuru smiled and turned to him asking, “If one day I grow old and can no longer sing for you, would you still love me?”

Javier smiled kindly and said, “Of course I would” and placed his hand on Yuzuru’s cheek and gently kissed him.

The next morning started like every other, with Yuzuru setting the cast iron tea kettle over the fire while he prepared their morning meal. The sun shone in through the open window and onto the table where Javier sat, smiling gently as he watched his beloved move about the kitchen.

Suddenly, Javier put his hand to his mouth and coughed. 

As he drew his hand away, they both saw the blood on his palm. Fear gripped Yuzuru like a rope around his heart. He dropped the cup in his hand, and it clattered onto the bamboo floor. They both knew a poor couple like themselves could never afford the medicine needed to treat the lung illness that was slowly spreading across the land. If Javier had caught the disease it was only a matter of time. He wiped the blood off his hand on his yukata and turned away, refusing to meet Yuzuru’s eyes.

Each night after that as Javier held his beloved Yuzuru in his arms and asked him “One more day?” his voice became more and more rough. Soon he was unable to whisper his nightly request without being interrupted by bloody coughs. 

Yuzuru was distraught at seeing his beloved slowly succumb to the terrible illness. He felt powerless and did what he could to make Javier as comfortable as possible. One night he decided to search their home to find anything that he might sell to buy the medicine that was so desperately needed. 

Instead he found an old loom. It had belonged to Javier's mother before she died. Javier had told him stories about watching her weave fabric for their clothing when he was a child. Yuzuru inspected the frame and saw that it was still intact and in working order, and then a shudder went through him as he knew what he had to do. 

That night after Javier fell asleep, Yuzuru got up and went to sit before the loom. He made a jerking motion with his hand, as if to pull something off his arm. When he opened his palm, a graceful white feather appeared, as if plucked into existence. The pain was terrible, because each feather that he plucked ripped away a part of his human soul. Yuzuru knew that once all the feathers were gone, he would lose the blessing of the gods and would become a swan again, only to eventually die without his mate. Slowly, he began to use the feather to weave the most unearthly beautiful white cloth. Once the fabric was completed, he could trade it in the village for the medicine needed to save his beloved. Plucking feathers as tears streamed down his face, the cloth slowly grew. 

Each night after Javier fell asleep Yuzuru would quietly get up and go to the loom to weave.  
“One more day… One more day” he would beg the gods as he worked at the loom each night, praying for time to complete the fabric before the illness took Javier away from him forever. The fear in his heart drew him back into the memories of the last time he had begged the gods for mercy, that day on the lake several seasons ago... 

_He was terrified. He had never been caught in a trap before, it reeked of Human and made his skin crawl beneath his feathers. He struggled to escape which only tightened the bonds around him. The netting cut into his delicate flesh and began to break his feathers. The rope around his neck was getting tighter and he began to lose consciousness. Suddenly he saw a human with a dagger before him and surrendered to his impending death._

_To his surprise, instead of ending his life the human freed him. He was amazed, and humbled. He stared into his deep brown eyes wishing he could convey his gratitude. Suddenly the man reached out and gently touched his neck, and at that moment he felt a shock like he had been struck by lightning. Yuzuru felt the red string of destiny tie their hearts together - he had bonded to his mate. Fate had decided that the kind man who freed him was meant to be his forever. Swans mate for life, and Yuzuru knew the bond could never be broken. The realization startled him, and he turned and flew away._

_For days Yuzuru was in agony, longing for something to fill the aching void in his soul. He was unable to be with his mate and it was breaking his heart. Every time he opened his eyes he saw his mate’s face, and each beat of his wings reminded him that they were only able to fly because of his kindness. Eventually the suffering became unbearable. So Yuzuru prayed to old gods of the forest to take pity on him, or at least end his life if they refused …. and awoke on the shores of the lake the next day in the body of a young man with a human soul. Voices echoed in his memory warning him of the rejection and pain he would suffer if the human ever learned that he had been born a swan, since the hearts of men were easily hardened. “He must never know… never know”_

Over time the weaving took its toll, and Yuzuru’s hands became rough and scabbed from constantly working the shuttle and roughly plucking out his feathers. The more feathers he lost the weaker he grew, and he felt his human soul fading. Like Javier, he knew he didn’t have much time. 

During the day Yuzuru did all he could to ease Javier’s suffering and distract him from the pain. They would sit outside in the garden with Javier’s head on his lap and watch the little rabbits hiding in the grass and listen to the birds sing their evening songs. One afternoon during a particularly beautiful sunset, Javier reached up to clasp his hands around his lover’s. “Such beautiful hands” he murmured and weakly smiled. He knew Yuzuru alone was doing the work that they had always shared, and it pained him to be such a burden. 

Despite the feeling he saw in his lover’s eyes, Yuzuru could only think of how cold Javier’s hands felt against his own. Much too cold. 

Yuzuru smiled down at his love while holding back tears and asked, “If one day I grow old and my hands are no longer beautiful, would you still love me?” he asked.

“Of course I would” Javier replied coughing, yet still trying to smile.

That night Javier's breathing was strained, and each breath felt like his lungs were being stabbed by a thousand knives. Trying to speak would only make it worse. The illness was progressing, and he was growing weaker. As they lay in their futon with Yuzuru’s arms around him, Javier could only look deep into his lover’s eyes, trying to convey his feelings. Yuzuru understood, and as he caressed Javier’s cheek he quietly asked, “One more day?” Javier’s lips quivered, his eyes welled up with tears, and slowly nodded.

That night as Yuzuru rose from their futon to weave the cloth, he shared his silent prayer to the gods once again. He knew they were out of time. He knelt before the loom then began to furiously pull the invisible feathers from his arms and weave with more speed and determination than ever before. The pain was excruciating. Each jerk of his hand to rip out a feather drew a cry from his lips, no matter how firmly he pressed them together. Over and over, ripping the beautiful feathers into existence as the tears poured down his face. His mouth silently forming the words to the prayer of “One more day” over and over as he worked the shuttle back and forth between the frames of the loom. As the pristine white fabric grew he could feel his soul being ripped apart, yet he continued on and worked without stopping until the sun began to rise. 

Finally, the beautiful cloth was finished. It shimmered like the sunlight on the first snow of winter and was as delicate as a butterfly’s wing. Yuzuru’s body was wracked with pain and exhaustion, as he had nearly destroyed his entire soul in order to weave it. He had only the smallest part left, just enough to quickly make his way to the village to trade the cloth for the lifesaving medicine. Each step there and back was like walking through fire, yet he ran as fast as his weakened body would carry him. 

Soon he returned and gently woke his beloved to give him the medicine. Javier weakly complied, while taking shuddering breaths and trying not to cough up more blood. Soon the medicine began to take effect and as the coughing slowly subsided, Javier was finally able to breathe without pain. Seeing him without the bloody coughs racking his body, Yuzuru began to cry tears of joy, even as he felt his own soul leaving him. 

Tears streamed down his face, and he weakly crawled over to the futon where Javier was sitting to rest his head on his lover’s lap, "If one day I’m no longer human, would you still love me?” he asked, as he looked up at his beloved. He dreaded the answer yet knew the inevitable was coming.

“Of course I would,” Javier said, to Yuzuru’s surprise while placing a hand on his cheek. 

Tears welled up in Javier’s eyes, “I’ll always remember the beautiful swan I saved and fell in love with. After you flew away, I prayed to the gods to let you return to me, even if just for a day. When I saw you stand before me that winter day, I knew had they answered my prayer. You gave me that day and a thousand more. You accepted me for who I was when I was alone and rejected and made me feel worthy of love.” He paused to wipe away the tears that were forming at the corners of his eyes.  
"If I had known that the medicine to save my life would cause you so much pain, I would have gladly continued to suffer. I will never forget that you sacrificed your wings to be with me, and even now, in our last hour together, I know I will always love you with all of my heart." 

Hearing those words, Yuzuru used the last of his strength to sit up and take his beloved’s face in his hands. He looked deeply into the dark eyes full of love and gently kissed his lips for the last time. As they parted Javier felt something and looked down to see Yuzuru placing the last feather, perfect and white, in his hands. The final gift from the swan that loved him. 

 

Epilogue

The people still tell tales of the Spanish woodcutter that loved a swan. At first, they said that he was blessed to be sent a lover from the gods who sacrificed their soul for him. Later it was said that he was cursed to be sent a swan instead of a wife since he wasn’t worthy of a human love. Over the generations the legend continued to shift until finally the story was recorded to say that the beautiful white bird that he had saved from a snare turned into a lovely maiden, but that through his selfishness he chased her away. 

But some still know the true tale, of Javier and his beloved Yuzuru. And how he spent the rest of his days watching the swans come to the lake by the mountain each season, with a pure white feather in his hand, remembering the swan that had been his mate.


End file.
